LARGE ENERGY SUPPLIERS MAKE PROGRESS ON CUSTOMER COMPLAINT HANDLING BUT OFGEM SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE

Customers are seeing a steady improvement in their overall satisfaction with the complaints handling processes of the largest energy suppliers, but further action is required according to Ofgem’s annual customer complaints survey.

This is the third such survey and follows action by Ofgem last year when it fined British Gas £2.5m and npower £2m as a result of investigations into the suppliers’ complaints handling processes. A third investigation into EDF Energy continues.

Of those surveyed, two in five domestic customers expressed satisfaction with the way their complaint was handled, compared to around one in four in 2010. However, it remains the case that dissatisfaction remains high with around half of all respondents remaining either ‘quite’ or ‘very’ dissatisfied with the way the complaint was handled.